The Student and Distance education

1. The Student and Distance education Chapter 7 Created by: Ms. Yohana Lopez The purpose of this chapter is to describe the characteristics and responsibilities of the distance learners.

2. Chapter Objectives • Identify characteristics of the distance students • Explain responsibilities of the learner for ensuring student participation. • Describe the factors that are important for student success. • Describe the responsibilities of the student in a synchronous / asynchronous class.

3. An Emphasis on the Student An Emphasis on the Student • The students are consider the audience when designing an online lesson after planning and organizing the hardware to be used. • They can be of any age, needs to have attained any educational level, and have a variety of educational needs. • They usually live in different areas, this is a factor used to ensure class enrollment, economic viability, and student engagement. • The instructor needs to know the student characteristics as much as possible in order to understand how best approach instructions and achieved a better learning performance.

4. Traits of the Distant Learner • Adult Learners: Adults are unique a unique characteristic in Distance Learning. Beson (2004) refers at adults as two categories: “white collar” and “blue collar” workers. According to Sullivan (2001) gender, both males and females identified self-discipline and self-pacing as important characteristics in order to succeed in the learning process. In the other hand is more convenience for working females because of their family responsibilities to accomplish their academic goal. Adults are self-starters, what makes them to have no patience for irrelevance information. Instructors need to be awarded of this traits to design a successful D.L. course.

5. P12 Learners • Consist of younger learners who are nor necessarily enrolled in a distant class by choice. They should be seeking for a particular course study or they are often placed in a distance class to satisfy course requirements. • Also, younger learners that are involved in “information navigation” Brown (2000). They seek information researching online and are less likely to be patient if they do not feel motivated. • Students from different places can be brought together into one class, which may represent for the instructor to create a unique instructional course design (Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland, 2005) • Besnson (2004) identify that the digital divide between adults and P12 has similar characteristics. Access to resources may be limited outside the school building so the instructor needs to provide a variety of resources in the course format.

6. Factors Influencing Learner Success • Attitude Factors: When planning the learning experience • ClassroomCulture at a Distance • Creates the opportunity for social interaction with different cultures • Working together creates a richer learning experience for the individual participant • Students who where involved in debates or WebQuests were more likely to be challenged by the learning activity and more likely to evidence higher levels of collaboration and contributions to discussions. • Etiquette • Since the students responses in distance education might happen asynchronous, the syllabus will serve as protocol and can become an important communication vehicle for the instructor in clarifying expectations related to appropriate use of language in all communications. • Humor is one of the communication aspects that creates the largest challenge. Emoticons are used to inflect emotions, feelings, and enhance the conversation. If students needs to use humor, they should use something to alert others like stating, “A NOTE OF HUMOR.” • The language or humor must be appropriate and restricted to the context setting. The instructor needs to be aware of any sensitivities and address the accordingly.

7. Factors Influencing Learner Success • Experience: Knowing about the students background • Learning Experiences • Students bring their prior experiences. The instructor will be successful in the course design if is aware of the students background knowledge. • Facilitate collaborative learning experiences, by allowing the students to work in groups and establishing the appropriate set for course discussions. • The instructor will provide orientation to the technology tools to those who are unfamiliar with the technology to ensure their success in class. • Distance Learning Experiences • Students with internet background usage is helpful for the instructor to channel that experience into more structured learning situations. • The instructor will plan a communication strategy when planning and designing the course for those students that have never experienced distance learning before, to ensure a valuable initial step in easing those students into distance settings. • Readiness for Learning at a Distance • In designing the course for first time distance education users, the instructor will succeed if presents the information creating redundancy and in multiple locations for easy access. This will create more work for the instructor but will determine a successful experience in distance learning for beginners.

8. Elements for Success • Elements: Considering elements that can serve as indicators for achievement. • General Ability • The students need to be in the appropriate academic setting in order to be successful. • The students need to have the ability to understand their tasks in learning. • Prior Knowledge • Is essential that the instructor have an understanding of what students know and how that relates to the intended instruction. • Pretest of knowledge, a survey with basic course content are good strategies to find out about what students know to date. • Learning Style • Students have different learning styles traditionally visual and auditory learners. • Visual learners need to be provided with visual cues such as audio/video learning tools to perform better. • Auditory learners listen better, audio streaming is an option open to an auditory learner in Web-based environments. • The instructor will consider students different learning styles and will design the course as a unit strategy that is suitable for all in order to engage learners and ensure a pleasant learning experience.

9. Learner Responsibility • Audio and Video-Based Settings • Establish an appropriate audio protocol. Background noise can interfere with the audio exchange. • Students need the ability of joining class discussions using audio or visual transmissions or both. • Students need to have the ability to use equipments such as cameras, video players, and fax machines that may be used in video-based classrooms. • All these abilities are a requirement for the students that will help to reduce anxiety and alleviate problems when they must use these equipment to present information as part of an assignment. • Online Settings: Students need to know the various types of resources available to them. • The instructor is the key in managing online setting problems. The syllabus will provide students with details in how to operate certain types of equipments. • The instructor will provide technical assistance to handle specific individual issues. • Time for Class • Synchronous: face-to-face arrangement it may be through video class, audio conference, and web-based video conference. Students from different time zones may be participating in class. • Asynchronous: The students do not need to be at the class at the same time. The student need to log-in to the class and complete the class activities on regular basis. The student needs to adjust the schedule accordingly.

10. Learner Responsibility • Communication • Connecting with the Instructor • The student needs to have very clear how to contact with the instructor at any point of time during the course. • The instructor generally will provide information through e-mail, and or phone calls or text messages. • The instructor needs to be very clear about the timeframe for responses. • The students need to know when is their responsibility to make a contact. • Connecting with Other Students • Students have the responsibility to initiate communication. The students will communicate with each other through collaborative work, and using course management tools.

11. Learner Responsibility • Attendance and Class Participation • Synchronous • Send a copy of the class video to the student that was not able to attend. • Class participation can be measured in group work, class discussions, group questions, voting on choices for decisions or activities, and chat conversations. • Asynchronous • Students need to understand the responsibility related to participate in class discussions. • Some instructors suggest that the student consider this class like a regular campus class to ensure class participation . • Assignments • Dealing with the Factors Affecting Completion of Assignments • Remind the students of an anticipated due dates in calendars or communication with students. • Use the syllabus to establish an activity datelines calendar. • Addressing the Grading Issues • If the student do not meet the expectations of the instructor, there is a need to improve the communication process. • Students need to have a clear understanding of the grading structure and how the assignments fit into that structure.

12. Learner Responsibility • Assuming Responsibility for Own Learning • Students must assume responsibility for their own learning. • They must understand the nuances for the amount of time. • They must focus on their own learning and be able to judge whether they need additional assistance. • It is wise that the instructor post information in multiple ways to ensure that all students have access to it. • Equipment Requirements and Use • Technical Know-How • Software packages (e.g., Blackboard, SPSS) • Types of equipments (e.g., printers, scanners) • Technical procedures (e.g., uploading a file to the website) • Is the student responsibility to obtain the technology required. • Technical Difficulties • The student has the responsibility to notify the instructor about any problem or technical difficulty. • They should notify the instructor immediately to avoid delay in class participation.

13. 28 Frequently asked student QuestionsFirst Five (5) • What are the differences between distance education and those correspondence schools seen in the infomercials? • Are there any educational prerequisite for taking distance education classes? • What is Just-in-Time learning? • How can I assess my knowledge in particular subject areas before choosing a course? • How do I choose a distance education Program?

14. The End!